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GM Willow Run plant facility environmental remediation work begins

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The environmental remediation process has began at 2910 Tyler Road in Ypsilanti Township. The property has been purchased by the International Turbine Industries, an aircraft maintenance firm.
(Patrick Record | The Ann Arbor News)

RACER Trust took control of 89 abandoned GM properties in 2011, 56 of which were in Michigan. The trust was charged with selling, repositioning and cleaning up all the sites, including the Willow Run plant. RACER has a $7.5 million budget for the remediation of the area surrounding the CVO Facility.

The International Turbine Industries purchased the CVO facility at 2901 Tyler Road, which consists of a 23,000-square-foot facility on 22 acres of property that was once part of the GM Willow Run complex.

Grant Trigger, cleanup manager for the former GM properties in Michigan, said work began Wednesday to remove the old asphalt, which he said is the first step in the process.

Trigger said the next step will be to expose the contaminated soil and then haul it off site. The work is being done in the eastern part of the parking lot.

RACER contracted the Environmental Quality Co. and consultant Conestoga Rovers and Associates, Inc. to do the work.

The remediation activities will include soil mixing, excavation and off-site disposal of contaminated soils. During the soil mixing, chemicals will be added to the soils to break down the target compounds, volatile organic compounds, to more innocuous compounds to allow for off-site transportation and disposal as non-hazardous waste.

Soils impacted by polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs, will be excavated, transported and disposed of at Wayne Disposal Inc. in Belleville.

Trigger said the soil is likely also contaminated by oil and some old solvents.

According to Trigger, there will be between eight and 10 people on site doing the work.

"All of the workers are required to have what is referred to as personal protection equipment," he said.

Removing the asphalt won't require full body suits, but when the workers begin to handle the contaminated soil, they will be fully covered.

Trigger said RACER has held a number of community meetings on June 18 and July 15 to discuss the process.

"We met with the board of directors with the Willow Run neighborhood association and described the work we’re doing," Trigger said. "Last week we sent a notice out letting them know that work is being done. We will provide regular updates as work progresses."

Perimeter air monitoring will be completed during the remediation process and engineering and dust control measures will be applied as needed to meet air monitoring criteria for this project, according to Trigger.

He said initial testing has shown there is no concern regarding the air quality.

"We’ve already done background air monitoring on the site and each week there will be continuous monitoring of the air quality," Trigger said. "There's no indication of any contamination in the air."

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the United States Environmental Protection Agency have reviewed and approved the remediation work plan for this project, Trigger said.

The work will likely be completed by December, Trigger said, and ITI will be able to move in around January.

The property is across the street from ITI’s existing facility at 2890 Tyler Road. The remainder of GM’s former holdings at Willow Run, consists of more than 300 acres and a 5-million-square-foot manufacturing building.

A connected vehicle research center is now planned for the former Willow Run GM Powertrain plant. Trigger said a $35.8 million budget has been allocated for the environmental cleanup of that facility.

Katrease Stafford covers Ypsilanti for The Ann Arbor News. Reach her at KatreaseStafford@mlive.com or 734-623-2548 and follow her on Twitter.